Witness: Man went 'crazy' when he beat a teenager to death

Share this story

COVINGTON, Wash. -- A 26-year-old Covington man accused in the brutal beating death of a 16-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with second degree murder.

Prosecutors say Robert Green got into an argument with the teenager early Saturday that ended with Green kicking and punching the boy until he died.

Investigators say Green and a friend returned to Green's Covington home in the early hours of Saturday after spending Friday night drinking at Muckelshoot Casino. When they arrived, the men told detectives they saw the victim, who was in town visiting his uncle.

Green said the teen seemed very drunk and aggressive. Green thought the boy might be a prowler so he confronted him, at which point he said the teen asked if Green and his friend wanted to buy cocaine.

When they declined, Green and his friend say the teen began shouting gang references and saying he and his gang "run this block," according to court documents.

Green claims at that point he threw the boy to the ground.

"He steps up to me and gets all huffy and puffy and leans towards me, so I threw him down," Green told police.

The boy didn't stay down, so Green began punching him.

"My goal was to make him unconscious and get him away from my house," he told police.

Green also admitted to kicking the boy at least twice in the face, and police say they later found a shoe print on the teen's face.

Green admitted to police that he was "just trying to give (the victim) a little ass kicking," but his friend describes the events differently.

That friend told police Green went "bat-(expletive) crazy" on the boy, according to prosecutors.

The friend said he tried to pull Green off the boy, but Green pushed him away and continued beating the unconscious teen. When it was evident the boy was not getting up, Green searched his pockets, looking for the cocaine, prosecutors say.

Not wanting the body in front of his house, Green dragged the boy down the street to the end of the cul-de-sac, according to prosecutors.

When police found the body later that morning, they say he had severe "drag abrasions" on his back and there was a 10-foot long bloody drag mark in the road.

Green's claims about the boy being drunk and aggressive appear to check out, at least with the King County sheriff's department.

Deputies say they had a run-in with the victim just hours before his death. At 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, deputies responded to a call about a person causing a disruption in a residential Covington neighborhood.

When they arrived, they found the victim, who was "highly intoxicated and aggressive towards officers," according to court documents. The boy told deputies he was a gang member, and deputies say his dress was consistent with that.

They handcuffed the boy when he resisted a pat down and they were about to take him in for an involuntary detox when they found his uncle's phone number in the boy's cell phone.

Instead of taking him in, the deputies decided to release him into his uncle's care. The uncle said the boy left the house shortly after being dropped off, at which point he ran into Green and his friend.

Green is being held on $1 million bail. Prosecutors asked for a high bail because they believe Green is a flight risk and "has a significant history of alcohol abuse," which makes him danger to the community.

Most Popular

While seated at a Starbucks, a homeless man came in and sat nearby. His scent was unpleasant and people looked at him and rolled their eyes. He was simply doing what we were all doing, drinking coffee and taking advantage of free WIFI. He brought his dog, Legacy, who was well behaved.

Lufthansa has switched aircraft equipment on their daily Seattle-Frankfurt route to a 747-400, seen here departing SEA-TAC today. They are now the only airline offering daily 747 passenger service at SEA-TAC. The upgraded service began March 29, 2015.

After spending the morning shooting pictures at other fields in the area, I was on my way home and noticed the unique colors in this field of flowers. I made a mental note as to its location so I could rendezvous back the following day.